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Location: Tamazunchale, San Luis Potosi (Huasteca Potosina)
School: Escuela Normal (Teacher Training College). Semi-urban context.
Number of Ss: 36 students officially. Only 34 attend, of which 25 are female Ss and 9 are male Ss.
Level of English: A2 predominance.
Age: 19-22
Sessions: 3 lessons per week of 50 minutes. 2 of them are face-to-face and 1 is online.
Situation: Low students participation in the speaking activities in class.

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1.      Why is Ss speaking participation during class important to me?

2.      What do my students think about speaking participation during class?

3.      What do my students feel about speaking participation during class?

4.      How often does speaking participation happen during class?

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I am a full-time English teacher of one of the Escuelas Normales (Teacher Training College) in Tamazunchale, San Luis Potosí. They are better known in Mexico as part of the Escuelas Normales system, which is tertiary education for those who want to become teachers in the initial education system. Our institution is organized into five campuses across San Luis Potosí State, we belong to the one in the Huasteca Potosina area. Despite the fact it is a semi-urban school, the school area seems quite rural though.
The English course schedule allotted according to the curricula for the Licenciatura en Enseñanza y Aprendizaje en Telesecundaria is from the first to the sixth semester. Accounting for six sessions of fifty minutes weekly. The curricula was designed by the University of Cambridge and the coursebook suggested is Interchange 5th ed. for Escuelas Normales edition. Ever since the pandemic back in March 2020, schedules moved on to virtual learning environments, and there have been many adjustments along the way. However, from the beginning of the semester fifth-semester students had online sessions on the first two months. By November, we started to have 2 lessons face-to-face and one online per week.

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1. Journal
2. Questionnaire
3. Observation protocol

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97.1% Ss do think speaking participation is important during the lesson.

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97.1% Ss do think speaking participation is important during the lesson.

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91.2% of Ss would like to participate in English language during lessons.

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91.2% of Ss would like to participate in English language during lessons.

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67.6% of Ss prefer practicing dialogues in pairs. 58.8% rather practice play role as group with the Interchange coursebook conversation dialogues.

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67.6% of Ss prefer practicing dialogues in pairs. 58.8% rather practice play role as group with the Interchange coursebook conversation dialogues.

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58.8% of Ss rather prefer working in pairs.

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58.8% of Ss rather prefer working in pairs.

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44.1% of Ss would like to spend 5-10 minutes participating actively in the English language. While 32.4% of them would like to dedicate 10-15 minutes to it.

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44.1% of Ss would like to spend 5-10 minutes participating actively in the English language. While 32.4% of them would like to dedicate 10-15 minutes to it.

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JOURNAL

1. My initial perception of speaking participation was to achieve effective communication. However, I have realized that they need to produce language first, in order to communicate effectively.

2. Students lack opportunities to produce language. I need to implement activities that allow students to actively produce language in a non-conditioned way and that foster self-confidence.

3. I may ensure to provide different opportunities to develop oral production in pair work and teams, as well. Not only in whole-class mode.

QUESTIONNAIRE

1. My first thoughts about my students not thinking speaking participation in the English language was important, were incorrect. Actually, they claim it is important and they would like to do it.

2. I need to reinforce students’ impression that oral expression in the English language improves self-confidence and leads to effective communication.

OBSERVATION PROTOCOL

1. My assumption was to be teaching in order for them to communicate effectively through grammar structures only. I have not given them the chance to make mistakes and to try to communicate the best they can.

2. I need to pay attention to what they want to express, taking into account what they need -e. g. grammar structures, vocabulary. In order to provide them with the chance to speak freely with no correction to truly strengthen their self-confidence to talk.

3. I may reassure to foster oral production beyond answering correctly. I need to let them produce as many language as possible, and guide them carefully to achieve effective communication that way.

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Actions taken:

There were to kinds of speaking activities implemented for six sessions: description activities for the beginning of each lesson; and, role-play tasks for the end of the lesson. Since we are in blended learning mode, two sessions were face-to-face and 1 session was online per week.

1. The 10 minutes at the beginning of each lesson was for controlled speaking activities in pairs. Using description tasks. The material was designed for this activity beforehand. The worksheets were prepared in advance for students to have some time to review the activities to be done and be prepared. For the face-to-face, I made sure to provide the printed material. In online sessions, they could work with the material printed out, and/ or digitally on their smartphones, computers, laptops. A stronger student was paired up with a weak one. So pairs were carefully set.

2. The last 10 minutes of the class were for semi-controlled speaking activities. Using role-play in pairs. The grammar structures of the unit were used for this task. Once at the end of the lesson, role-play activities took place. Most Ss were working with the same classmate they work with for the description task at the start of the class. A stronger student was paired up with a weak one. So pairs were be carefully set.

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Descriptions in pairs during face-to-face sessions.

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Descriptions in pairs during face-to-face sessions.

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Role play in pairs, face-to-face and online.

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Role play in pairs, face-to-face and online.

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-Questionnaire
-Journal
-Observation Protocol

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19 students felt very well after practicing descriptions and role play in pairs.

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19 students felt very well after practicing descriptions and role play in pairs.

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24 Ss consider they "can put into practice what they learned through the oral expression". 23 Ss reckon to "be capable of making a general description of an image orally in the English language". 22 Ss believe to be able to use the appropriate register in oral English expression". 21 Ss agree on "being able to actively participate in the English language with enough self-confidence". 20 Ss agree on "being able to put into practice the role play with their own contributions".

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24 Ss consider they "can put into practice what they learned through the oral expression". 23 Ss reckon to "be capable of making a general description of an image orally in the English language". 22 Ss believe to be able to use the appropriate register in oral English expression". 21 Ss agree on "being able to actively participate in the English language with enough self-confidence". 20 Ss agree on "being able to put into practice the role play with their own contributions".

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71.9% of Ss identified practicing role play strategy using the grammatical structures seen in class. Only 40.6% recognized having learn how to use grammatical structures seen in lessons. 

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71.9% of Ss identified practicing role play strategy using the grammatical structures seen in class. Only 40.6% recognized having learn how to use grammatical structures seen in lessons. 

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43.8% of Ss participated from 1-3 times in each lesson. 40.6% of Ss participated from 3 to 6 times in every class.

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43.8% of Ss participated from 1-3 times in each lesson. 40.6% of Ss participated from 3 to 6 times in every class.

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JOURNAL
- Pairing up one stronger student with one weak one was very helpful. Having their worksheets ready in advance following the same pattern worked out. Students had a shy start but then they became familiarized with the two different dynamics.
- The actions taken, descriptions and role-play were well received. There was a change in the attitude of students when they had to produce the English language, everyone was using their dictionaries on their phones, the worksheets, and talking to each other. Strong students were leading the weak ones very nicely. Negotiation of meaning started to take place.

QUESTIONNAIRE
- 19 Ss felt very well working in pairs.
- 24 Ss consider they "can put into practice what they learned through the oral expression". 23 Ss reckon to "be capable of making a general description of an image orally in the English language". 21 Ss agree on "being able to actively participate in the English language with enough self-confidence". 20 Ss agree on "being able to put into practice the role play with their own contributions".
- 71.9% of Ss identified practicing role-play strategy using the grammatical structures seen in class. Only 40.6% recognized having learned how to use grammatical structures seen in lessons for descriptions.
- Active speaking participation took place. 43.8% of Ss participated from 1-3 times in each lesson. 40.6% of Ss participated from 3 to 6 times in every class.

OBSERVATION PROTOCOL
- Students who were prepared for the online session could perform the task successfully. Those who were not couldn't complete the task or took a long time.
- Stronger students were very helpful with weak ones.
- The tasks in breakout rooms had a slow beginning but once students started they could get along with the activity.
- Unstable connectivity was a major factor that influenced performance.

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Conclusions

This research work allowed me to realize how much students actually feel regarding practicing the English language during class. However, since we are in the middle of teaching mode adjustments -from wholly online to blended learning- the adaptation period took time. I realized the importance to provide the suitable space for them to produce language among them through pair work. It was necessary for them to know there was room for making mistakes as part of their learning process. I wish I could have more time to implement the actions. I will keep both activities but even simpler. The moment I realized they were able to carry on the tasks I added a more difficult element in each of them too soon, which did not work well. It was evident that students work much better in face-to-face sessions than online due to the unstable connectivity we all have in the local region. Furthermore, I learned that taking students' opinions into consideration when improving their skills development it’s way more effective than just deciding on my own what to change. Finally, when our practice is observed by somebody else we can see a more complete picture for the betterment of our own practice.